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COMMENTARY
THE LAW'S IMPACT ON THE SMALL,
FAMILY-ORIENTED BUSINESSPERSON
By The Honorable Frank D. Celebrezze
Chief Justice, Ohio Supreme Court
The topic of the day is crime. What else would a
judge t alk about?
For years most of us have read about crime or
even been victimized by it, and thought to ourselves
that this is a serious matter. But the responsibility
belongs to other people , and we wish they would get
it fixed . We have tended to look upon crime much as
we do inflation, disliking it but supposing we can live
with a little more of it every year if we have to. Will
Rogers once commented that it's awfully hard to get
people interested in corruption-unless they can get
some of it.
Well , this is changing. Crime has reached the
level that we are turning our homes, schools, places of
business , and even our churches into fortresses-
secured with dead bolt locks, protected by electronic
alarm systems, guarded by security patrols, and armed
with a pistol in the dresser drawer.
Of course, the problem is much larger than just
crime . It isn ' t only public laws that are losing their
effectiveness as restraints on human conduct. All the
informal rules which make it possible to live together
amicably and productively are being just as widely
disregarded as the public laws. Courteousness, pride
in doing one 's job well , fidelity, truthfulness , loyalty,
patriotism , and many other norms of behavior which
make for a pleasant, workable , and unified society are
falling by the wayside.
What has gone wrong?
A good part of the answer was set forth by Buck-
minster Fuller some.years ago. He said the educational
system whi c h evolved in this country tends to identify
the bright minds as they come up through the
schools, and encourages them to become experts in
something. That has a certain usefulness. But it has
one substantial shortcoming. It leaves the people of
mediocre intelligence to become the generalists
needed for such positions as college presidents and
presidents of the United States.
Actually, we need the advice of highly intelligent
generalists in every activity wherein the decisions
affect large numbers of people.
Let us consider the matter of crime in this
context . The judiciary is being encouraged to mete
out tougher penalties through mandatory sentencing
statutes and to adopt more restrictive policies for bail
and parole. At the same time, many groups are trying
to find ways to improve the rehabilitation of jailed
convicts.
The generalist, looking at this situation , will say-
" Wait a minute! Aren 't we coming at this thing from
the wrong direction? Isn't it a little late to try to teach
the fellow to abide by the laws after he has robbed the
bank? "
History has many lessons for us, and one that is
absolutely unmistakable and unwavering is that the
human being is not born with the knack of getting
along with his neighbors. That kind of conduct must
be learned. We can wish that everyone was born
friendly and considerate, but our instincts, for the
most part , incline us to look out for ourselves and
trample on the folks who get in the way. Self-restraint,
cooperation , helpfulness, the willingness to sacrifice
in order to keep a marriage together, or a nation
together-these are attitudes and skills which must be
taught to the young and continually reinforced for all
All the informal rules are as widely disregarded as the public laws.
PLAY METER. August 1 5. 1984
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